Historical facts should not be a burden to the memory, but an illumination to the soul. – Lord Acton(1834-1902)
History is fascinating, although most students in school don't quite agree with the sentiment. How much can we learn about the past, our past, by digging into old documents as our country was being formed?
A cousin of mine and I have been hard at work digging and digging to try and uncover the definitive proof of the family of our Margaret McMillen (1762-1849).
She was born in Washington Co, PA, and died in Lower St. Clair, Allegheny, PA. While there is no mention of her father's name, she did name a son Thomas McMillen, so we suspect that was most likely her father's name. We have located three Thomas McMillens in the neighborhood, so trying to pin it down has been a struggle. One is the brother of the good Rev. John McMillen, and one is an Irishman who came much later than the birth of our Margaret.
The other one is probably ours. My cousin has been busy at the courthouse in Pittsburgh looking up land deeds, wills, and just generally scouring the countryside for any more leads. Yep, JoAnn, you've done a superb job of looking into almost every dark crevice in Allegheny Co.
The one good lead we have is that Margaret's son, Thomas M HENRY, was named as an executor for his uncle Thomas McMillen, who lived in Robinson Twp. So we know where he lived along the Piney Branch of Peters Creek, and we know he died in 1831. Too bad, he didn't mention his sister in the will written in 1829. Those mentioned in the will are his wife Mary, Mathew McMillen, John McMillen, Wm McMillen, James McMillen, Samuel McMillen, Joseph McMillen, Ebenezer McMillen and Anne McMillen. According to the will, Ebenezer is not yet 21.
Also from the Union Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Robinson are:
McMILLEN John 79 1840
McMILLIN John 60 1853
McMILLIN John 84 1922
McMILLIN John Y. 3 1899
McMILLIN Joseph 45 1852
McMILLIN Margaret 79 1898
McMILLIN Margaret 59 1918
McMILLIN Mary78 1844
McMILLIN Samuel
McMILLIN Sarah 80 1926
McMILLIN Thomas 76 1831
Just last night, JoAnn sent a new lead from A List Of Persons Names Exonerated On The Frontiers of Washington County for Being Distressed By The Incursions of Depredations of the Indians. Of course, a Thomas McMILLEN in Robinson Twp is mentioned on this 1789 document. Reading the names on the list is almost like looking at my family tree. So many familiar names are there. What was interesting to note is these men on this list did not have to pay taxes due to the damages they sustained during Indian attacks. Can you imagine this happening today? Can you imagine how bad it had to have been?
This little tidbit sent me on a journey this morning to learn more about the Indian attacks suffered by these early settlers. What I found in Boyd Crumrine's History of Washington County, Pennsylvania with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men (Philadelphia: L. H. Leverts & Co., 1882) made my hair stand on end.
Not only were there many instances of Indians attacking settlers, there were instances of men from Virginia who tried to "draft" the Pennsylvania men in to their militia. Now, to be fair, that little southwestern part of Pennsylvania was fought over by both Pennsylvania and Virginia. I just didn't realize the extent of the literal fighting, burning and killing by other settlers that accompanied that fight. Not only did the families of southwestern PA have to suffer Indian raids, they also suffered from the men of Virginia.
I also was enlightened to learn how the settlers attacked the peace loving Indians just "cause they were there." Interesting reading if you like history.
Onward genealogy buffs to the next lead of enlightenment.
Ahh, genealogy. Just can't top Lord Acton's words- Historical facts should not be a burden to the memory, but an illumination to the soul.
©2012 AS Eldredge
Ahhh, genealogy. A glimpse of the past shows of what I am made.....
Showing posts with label attack. Show all posts
Showing posts with label attack. Show all posts
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Friday, March 25, 2011
Fearless Females: Grandma Massey Harbison, Surviving an Indian Kidnapping in 1792
Fearless and courageous are only two of the words used to describe Massey (Massa) White HARBISON. Her story still makes me catch my breath every time I read it.
Massey WHITE, a child of American Revolution patriot Edward WHITE, was born in 1770 and witnessed early American history firsthand. She is believed to have witnessed battles close to her home in Somerset County, NJ. Her father relocated the family to western Pennsylvania, and that is where her hair raising story really begins.
Massey married John HARBISON in 1787 and they became one of the first settlers on the headwaters of Chartier's Creek in the northwestern part of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. They were accustomed to making mad dashes to nearby blockhouses when the Indians attacked and killed the locals.
John fought in St. Clair's army and was wounded when St. Clair and men suffered a huge defeat against the western Indian tribes in 1791. After he had healed, he served as an Indian Scout in the Allegheny frontier.
In May of 1792, Indians attacked their home while John was away and dragged Massa and her children out of bed. One of the small boys was crying such that the Indians dashed his head on the doorstep, before stabbing and scalping him. To her horror, Massey and her remaining two children were taken hostage.
Many of her captives were known to her and could speak English.
As the band of Indians and their captives were crossing down a steep bank to the Allegheny River, Massey threw herself off the horse. The horse that carried her son fell and injured her son. The Indians then killed him. She wrote, .."When I beheld this second scend of inhuman butchery, I fell to the ground senseless, with my infant in my arms..." (1).
When she awoke, she saw the scalp of her child on the ground and was beaten yet again. They later crossed into the Indian side of the country. She thought death would be welcome at this point, and expected to die when she threw down the powder horn (not once, but three times) that the Indians forced her to carry (as she was carrying her infant.)
She passed the first night of her captivity with her arms pinioned to her back and with a savage to each side of her. The next morning, Massey bravely tried to take a tomahawk before being detected. Quick on her feet, she explained her infant was trying to play with it.
The Indians had been successful in losing the settlers and were vigilant in their lookout for pursuit. The second night, Massey was moved to another station. The next morning, some of the Indians went off again to see if the settlers could be seen. Massey faked being asleep, and her one remaining guard did fall asleep. She grabbed a pillowcase and hankerchief and made her escape. She changed courses several times during her escape in order to deceive the Indians. The Indians did search for her and came close to her hiding spot. She stuffed the cloth in her infant's mouth to keep him quiet. For over two hours, the Indian stood still and close to her hiding spot. He did not leave until his friends called for him.
She crossed the creek above Pittsburgh and found a path to follow. For a few days, she wandered trying to find help, while fearful of being detected by the Indians. She despaired that both she and her infant would die. Only the thought of her infant dying after her kept her determined to find help.
When she heard a cow bell and saw some settlers, she called out to them. They asked her name, and checked to see if it was a trap. When one of the men saw her condition, he asked her again who she was. It was one of her neighbors who knew her but did not recognize her in the week since she had been gone. Her appearance and voice had been altered.
Massey survived, although the events of the kidnapping altered her life forever. Her story was told and retold after the event in newspapers of the time. In 1825, she published a book on the ordeal.
You can call her brave. I can call her grandma. You see, her daughter, Margaret, is the third wife of my 4g grandfather. While I don't share her blood, Massey was the only grandmother my 3g and 2g grandfathers knew.
There is a park named for Massey as well as a DAR chapter in Pennsylvania.
Ahh, genealogy. Honoring the amazing women in my family history makes me so thankful for them and their sacrifices.
Sources:
(1) Flood Tides Along the Allegheny by Francis R Harbison, 1941.
http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=pitttext;cc=pitttext;xc=1;idno=00z836437m;g=text-all;xg=1;q1=massey%20harbison;frm=frameset;view=image;seq=7;page=root;size=s
History of Butler County Pennsylvania, 1883
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~pabutler/1883/83-02.htm#massy
Alle-Kiski Valley.com
http://akvalley.com/history/pioneers/massa/massa.shtml
©2011 AS Eldredge
Massey WHITE, a child of American Revolution patriot Edward WHITE, was born in 1770 and witnessed early American history firsthand. She is believed to have witnessed battles close to her home in Somerset County, NJ. Her father relocated the family to western Pennsylvania, and that is where her hair raising story really begins.
Massey married John HARBISON in 1787 and they became one of the first settlers on the headwaters of Chartier's Creek in the northwestern part of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. They were accustomed to making mad dashes to nearby blockhouses when the Indians attacked and killed the locals.
John fought in St. Clair's army and was wounded when St. Clair and men suffered a huge defeat against the western Indian tribes in 1791. After he had healed, he served as an Indian Scout in the Allegheny frontier.
In May of 1792, Indians attacked their home while John was away and dragged Massa and her children out of bed. One of the small boys was crying such that the Indians dashed his head on the doorstep, before stabbing and scalping him. To her horror, Massey and her remaining two children were taken hostage.
Many of her captives were known to her and could speak English.
As the band of Indians and their captives were crossing down a steep bank to the Allegheny River, Massey threw herself off the horse. The horse that carried her son fell and injured her son. The Indians then killed him. She wrote, .."When I beheld this second scend of inhuman butchery, I fell to the ground senseless, with my infant in my arms..." (1).
When she awoke, she saw the scalp of her child on the ground and was beaten yet again. They later crossed into the Indian side of the country. She thought death would be welcome at this point, and expected to die when she threw down the powder horn (not once, but three times) that the Indians forced her to carry (as she was carrying her infant.)
She passed the first night of her captivity with her arms pinioned to her back and with a savage to each side of her. The next morning, Massey bravely tried to take a tomahawk before being detected. Quick on her feet, she explained her infant was trying to play with it.
The Indians had been successful in losing the settlers and were vigilant in their lookout for pursuit. The second night, Massey was moved to another station. The next morning, some of the Indians went off again to see if the settlers could be seen. Massey faked being asleep, and her one remaining guard did fall asleep. She grabbed a pillowcase and hankerchief and made her escape. She changed courses several times during her escape in order to deceive the Indians. The Indians did search for her and came close to her hiding spot. She stuffed the cloth in her infant's mouth to keep him quiet. For over two hours, the Indian stood still and close to her hiding spot. He did not leave until his friends called for him.
She crossed the creek above Pittsburgh and found a path to follow. For a few days, she wandered trying to find help, while fearful of being detected by the Indians. She despaired that both she and her infant would die. Only the thought of her infant dying after her kept her determined to find help.
When she heard a cow bell and saw some settlers, she called out to them. They asked her name, and checked to see if it was a trap. When one of the men saw her condition, he asked her again who she was. It was one of her neighbors who knew her but did not recognize her in the week since she had been gone. Her appearance and voice had been altered.
Massey survived, although the events of the kidnapping altered her life forever. Her story was told and retold after the event in newspapers of the time. In 1825, she published a book on the ordeal.
You can call her brave. I can call her grandma. You see, her daughter, Margaret, is the third wife of my 4g grandfather. While I don't share her blood, Massey was the only grandmother my 3g and 2g grandfathers knew.
There is a park named for Massey as well as a DAR chapter in Pennsylvania.
Ahh, genealogy. Honoring the amazing women in my family history makes me so thankful for them and their sacrifices.
Sources:
(1) Flood Tides Along the Allegheny by Francis R Harbison, 1941.
http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=pitttext;cc=pitttext;xc=1;idno=00z836437m;g=text-all;xg=1;q1=massey%20harbison;frm=frameset;view=image;seq=7;page=root;size=s
History of Butler County Pennsylvania, 1883
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~pabutler/1883/83-02.htm#massy
Alle-Kiski Valley.com
http://akvalley.com/history/pioneers/massa/massa.shtml
©2011 AS Eldredge
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